System and method for encouraging student attendance

ABSTRACT

Students are rewarded on a regular basis with collectible cards or other collectible items for satisfactory school attendance. In addition to the characteristics that make the items collectible, they can bear additional information for entertaining and educating students, such as motivational messages and puzzle clues.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/831,291, filed Jul. 15, 2006, is hereby claimed and the specification thereof incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to encouraging behaviors through rewards and, more specifically, to encouraging and motivating children to attend school by providing rewards.

2. Description of the Related Art

Ensuring that children attend school is of great importance to educators and society as a whole. Students' absence from school or tardiness in arriving are detrimental to learning and thus undesirable.

It has been suggested to motivate students to improve academic performance, attendance and other facets of the educational experience by rewarding them with incentives. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0073488 discloses rewarding students with tokens that are redeemable for merchandise.

Although rewarding students for a good school attendance record has been shown to be effective, reward systems that establish too strong an association between good attendance and material rewards, such as an array of merchandise from which a child can choose, can send children the wrong message.

It would be desirable to provide an improved system and method for rewarding attendance that encourages and motivates children to attend school. The present invention provides such a system and method in the manner described below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is believed that children are best encouraged and motivated to perform well in academic and other settings by providing regular, consistent, immediate positive reinforcement. The present invention relates to a system and method that rewards students for on-time school attendance with collectible cards or other collectible items from a set of such items.

The term “collectible” refers to the innate desire of humans to collect items from a set of items that are similar to each other in some way, such as shape, color, images, theme, etc., yet differ from each other in one or more other ways. For example, baseball or other sports cards are collectible because, for example, all baseball cards are of approximately the same size and shape yet are divided into subsets of different teams, players, years, etc. Collectors are drawn to cards of the same team, player, year, etc. For analogous reasons, people desire to collect artwork, music, crafts, stamps and coins, etc.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, school personnel identify each student having a satisfactory attendance record (i.e., a record of attendance exceeding a predetermined minimum attendance level, such as attending class on time every day for one week), and give one of the collectible items to each such identified student. As used herein, the term “attendance level” can take into account whether a student attended class, whether a student arrived on time, or both. Thus, in some embodiments, the invention can be used solely to discourage tardiness by giving the items to students who arrive on time and not giving them to students who are tardy.

The collectible items can be cards or other suitable items. The cards can bear images of animals or other images of interest to school-age children. Along with each animal image, the card can bear an educational and entertaining fact about the animal.

In the exemplary embodiment, each card in a predetermined set of cards bears a number, corresponding to the week of the school year. For example, in a school district in which the school year has 36 weeks, each set consists of 36 cards. A teacher can be provided with one set of 36 cards for each student in the class. If a student meets the above-referenced minimum attendance level for the week or other attendance period, the teacher gives the student the card bearing the number corresponding to that week.

In accordance with another feature of the exemplary embodiment, each quarter or other selected portion or term of the school year or other term, school personnel can conduct a contest based upon clues or other information contained in the collectible items given to the students. For example, every quarter, e.g., every nine weeks in a school district in which the school year has 36 weeks, each student can examine his or her collected cards and use information gleaned from the cards to attempt to solve a puzzle. School personnel can give an additional reward, such as a toy, school supplies, or other item, to each student who submits a correct solution to the puzzle. Alternatively, the reward can be entering the student in a random drawing to provide the student with a chance to win such an item.

In accordance with another feature of the exemplary embodiment, the reverse side of each card bears a portion of an image, and a student can arrange the collected cards to reveal the image as a whole. The image can be, for example, a herd of animals. The image can also bear an inspirational or motivational message, such as “Stay in School!”

The invention will become more apparent through the following description of one or more exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a set of collectible cards for motivating children to attend school, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates the reverse sides of a number of the cards of FIG. 1 arranged in a manner that reveals an image and motivational message.

FIG. 3 illustrates a class attendance chart in accordance with the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for motivating children to attend school using the cards of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-2, in an exemplary embodiment of the invention a set of collectible cards 10, similar in size and shape to baseball cards or other collectible sports cards, consists of 36 cards 10 because in the exemplary embodiment the school year correspondingly consists of 36 weeks. A 36-week school year, divided into quarters, semesters, or trimesters, is typical in the United States and some other countries. As the length of a “standard” school year may nevertheless be one or two weeks longer than 36 weeks in some school districts or in some special cases and one or two weeks shorter than 36 weeks in other school districts or in other special cases, it is useful for purposes of this patent specification (“herein”) to refer to a school year as consisting of “about” 36 weeks, and the card set as consisting of “about” 36 cards 10. (It should be noted that the term “consisting” is used herein as a closed-ended term meaning no more and no less, except as otherwise provided, while the term “comprising” is used herein as an open-ended term meaning at least but in some cases more.) Although in the exemplary embodiment of the invention there are 36 unique cards 10 in each set, i.e., each card is different from the other cards in the set, in other embodiments of the invention the set can consist of any other suitable number of cards that corresponds to the number of attendance periods that school personnel monitor. Also, the term “set” is not limited to the set of cards 10 corresponding to the entire school year (term) but can alternatively refer to the set of cards 10 corresponding to a quarter, semester or other term of the school year. For example, a set of nine cards 10 can be provided that corresponds to an academic quarter.

Each card 10 in the set bears a unique image 12, i.e., an image different from that of the other cards 10 in the set, of a theme that is typically of interest to children of elementary school age, such as an animal theme. Thus, for example, each card 10 can bear an image 12 of a different animal. Image 12 thus defines at least part of what makes cards 10 collectible or desirable to school-age children, as such students will be interested in collecting a complete set of animals. Each card 10 can also bear an educational and entertaining fact 14 about the animal or other thing depicted in image 12. For example, a card 10 bearing an image of a cheetah can also bear the sentence: “Cheetahs are the fastest mammal in the world.”

As described below, the time period during which the students collect cards 10 can be the entire school year or, alternatively or in addition, a suitable subset or portion such as a quarter or semester, and the methods described below can be performed on the basis of whatever portion of the school year that personnel choose to have the children collect cards 10. For example, the methods described below can be performed once per quarter or four times per school year, using a set of cards 10 each quarter.

Each card 10 in the set also bears a unique number 14, corresponding to the week or other attendance period in which the card 10 is to be given to students, as described below. Although cards 10 are shown for purposes of clarity in FIG. 1 as numbered “1”-“36” to correspond to a complete 36-week school year, in other embodiments they can be numbered to correspond to only a subset or portion of a school year. For example, a set of cards 10 numbered “1”-“9” can be used once per quarter. A set numbered “1”-“9” may be preferred over a set numbered “1”-“36” because it may be easier for students and teachers to use a collection of nine cards than 36 cards, as described in further detail below with regard to the exemplary methods. Again, it should be noted that in embodiments of the invention to be used in school districts or other jurisdictions in which the school year or relevant portion thereof consists of a number of weeks or other attendance periods other than 36 weeks (or relevant portion thereof), the number of cards 10 and numbering of cards 10 will correspond accordingly.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, while the obverse sides or faces of cards 10 can bear the indicia and other information described above, the reverse sides or faces of cards 10 can bear portions of an overall or collective image, such as a group of animals. In other words, each card 10 in the set bears a unique portion of this collective image, and the image portions of all cards 10 in the set collectively define the overall image when arranged adjacent to one another. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, nine cards 10 (e.g., a complete set of cards 10 collected over the course of an academic quarter) are arranged in a 3×3 array, such that their image portions fit together in a puzzle-like manner to reveal the overall or collective image, which in the example shown in FIG. 2 depicts a school of fish. The image also includes the motivational phrase: “Stay in school!” Although a rectangular array is shown for purposes of illustration, in other embodiments adjacent cards 10 can fit together in any other suitable arrangement, such as a jigsaw puzzle-like arrangement in which cards 10 have an irregular shape.

As further illustrated in FIG. 2, each card 10 in the set bears a clue to a puzzle. In the exemplary embodiment the clue consists of a single letter or word. As shown, one card 10 bears a letter “D”, another card 10 bears a letter “F”, another card 10 bears the word “THE,” etc. In this example, these letters and words on cards 10 as arranged form an anagram of still another clue: “FIND THE STAR.” As described below in further detail, this clue may inform the student who collected this set of cards 10 to look for a card bearing a star. Referring back to FIG. 1, note that the obverse side of the card 10 numbered “2” bears a star 18. If the student finds the card bearing the star, the student has solved the puzzle. In view of this example, myriad other such puzzles in which clues to their solutions are contained in information on the cards will occur readily to persons of skill in the art to which the invention relates. In other embodiments of the invention, the puzzle clues can be included in the information on the card in any other suitable manner, such as by camouflaging or hiding clues in the animal image itself or by associating clues with colors, shapes, patterns, images, or other information in cards 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, an attendance chart 20 or other indicator of student attendance can be provided to use as part of a system for encouraging attendance, in conjunction with the set of cards 10. The exemplary attendance chart 20 includes spaces in which a teacher can list each student's name and spaces in which the teacher can indicate (for example, by marking with a star sticker, a check mark, etc.) whether the student had a satisfactory attendance record in each week or other monitored attendance period of the period in which the students are collecting cards 10. A student who receives a card 10 as a reward for satisfactory attendance also receives a corresponding mark or other indication of satisfactory attendance on attendance chart 20. Attendance chart 20 or other attendance indicator can be posted in the classroom so that students receive a constant visual reminder of their attendance progress throughout the school year or portion thereof.

An exemplary method for motivating children to attend school using the above-described set of cards 10 is illustrated in FIG. 4. As a preliminary step, a teacher is provided with one set of cards 10 for each participating student in the class. Thus, a teacher having a class of N students participating in the attendance reward program receives, for example, N cards 10 bearing the number “1” and an image of a giraffe, N cards 10 bearing the number “2” and an image of a cheetah, etc. At step 22, the teacher identifies students in the class whose attendance was satisfactory during the preceding week or other monitored attendance period. As described above, satisfactory attendance refers to a record of attendance exceeding a predetermined minimum attendance level, such as attending class on time each day of the preceding week. At step 24, the teacher gives each such identified student one of cards 10 from the set. In the exemplary embodiment, each identified student receives an identical card 10. For example, in the first week of the school year, each student identified as having had satisfactory attendance receives the card 10 numbered “1” bearing the giraffe image. Steps 22 and 24 are repeated weekly or once per other monitored attendance period.

As indicated by step 26, after performing steps 22 and 24 for a number of weeks corresponding to the number of weeks in the term (e.g., nine weeks in a nine-week quarter) or number of cards 10 in the set, a student who has collected all cards 10 in the set (e.g., nine cards 10), can arrange them as described above with regard to FIG. 2 and view the resulting image, textual message or other idea that the arrayed cards 10 collectively convey, as well as any puzzle clues contained in the information in cards 10, and the motivational phrase.

As indicated by step 28, a contest can be conducted by collecting students' solutions to the puzzle that they have formulated based upon clues gleaned from the set of cards 10 they have collected. If, for example, a student guesses that the puzzle clues suggest finding a star among cards 10, and the student finds the card 10 bearing such a star, the teacher can provide the student with a suitable additional reward, as indicated by step 30. The additional reward can be in the form of, for example, a plush animal toy, or entering the students who guessed correctly in a random drawing to win such a toy. In other embodiments of the invention, the additional reward need not be a material item but rather simply can be in the form of additional recognition.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to this invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided that they come within the scope of any claims and their equivalents. With regard to the claims, no claim is intended to invoke the sixth paragraph of 35 U.S.C. Section 112 unless it includes the term “means for” followed by a participle. 

1. A method for motivating children to attend school, comprising: identifying each child having a record of attendance exceeding a predetermined minimum attendance level; and giving a collectible item to each identified child, the collectible item belonging to a predetermined set of a plurality of collectible items.
 2. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the identifying and giving steps are performed weekly.
 3. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the predetermined minimum attendance level consists of attending every day of class during a predetermined time period.
 4. The method claimed in claim 3, wherein the predetermined time period is one week.
 5. The method claimed in claim 1, further comprising, following a predetermined plurality of times of performing the identifying and giving steps, conducting a contest based upon information contained in the collectible items given to the children.
 6. The method claimed in claim 5, wherein the information contained in the collectible items given to the children comprise clues to a puzzle, and the step of conducting a contest comprises receiving proposed solutions to the puzzle from the children.
 7. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the set of collectible items comprises a set of cards.
 8. The method claimed in claim 7, wherein each card in the set includes an image.
 9. The method claimed in claim 8, wherein each card in the set includes an entertaining fact about what is depicted in the image.
 10. The method claimed in claim 8, wherein each card in the set includes a image of an animal.
 11. The method claimed in claim 7, wherein each card in the set includes a unique number corresponding to a week of class.
 12. The method claimed in claim 7, wherein each card in the set bears unique indicia, and the indicia of all cards in the set collectively express an idea when arranged adjacent to one another.
 13. The method claimed in claim 12, wherein the idea comprises an image.
 14. The method claimed in claim 13, wherein the image is of a group of animals.
 15. The method claimed in claim 12, wherein the idea comprises a textual message.
 16. The method claimed in claim 15, wherein the textual message encourages children to attend school.
 17. The method claimed in claim 7, wherein each card in the set bears a clue to a puzzle.
 18. A system for motivating children to attend school, comprising: a student attendance indicator having indicia for indicating attendance of each of a plurality of students in a class during each of a plurality of attendance periods; and a predetermined set of a plurality of collectible items corresponding in number to the attendance periods.
 19. The system claimed in claim 18, wherein the plurality of attendance periods consists of about 36 weeks, and the plurality of collectible items consists of about 36 collectible items.
 20. The system claimed in claim 18, wherein information contained in the collectible items comprises clues to a puzzle.
 21. The system claimed in claim 18, wherein the set of collectible items comprises a set of cards.
 22. The system claimed in claim 21, wherein each card in the set includes an image.
 23. The system claimed in claim 22, wherein each card in the set includes an entertaining fact about what is depicted in the image.
 24. The system claimed in claim 22, wherein each card in the set includes an image of an animal.
 25. The system claimed in claim 21, wherein each card in the set includes a unique number corresponding to a week of class.
 26. The system claimed in claim 21, wherein each card in the set bears unique indicia, and the indicia of all cards in the set collectively express an idea when arranged adjacent to one another.
 27. The system claimed in claim 26, wherein the idea comprises an image.
 28. The system claimed in claim 27, wherein the image is of a group of animals.
 29. The system claimed in claim 26, wherein the idea comprises a textual message.
 30. The system claimed in claim 29, wherein the textual message encourages children to attend school.
 31. The system claimed in claim 21, wherein each card in the set bears a clue to a puzzle.
 32. A set of cards for motivating children to attend school, comprising: a plurality of cards corresponding in number to a number of weeks in a school term, each card in the set including a unique number corresponding to a week of class in the term; and wherein each card in the set includes an image of an animal.
 33. The set of cards claimed in claim 32, wherein information contained in each card comprises a clue to a puzzle.
 34. The set of cards claimed in claim 32, wherein the number of weeks in the term is about 9, and the plurality of cards consists of about 9 cards.
 35. The set of cards claimed in claim 32, wherein the number of weeks in the term is about 18, and the plurality of cards consists of about 18 cards.
 36. The set of cards claimed in claim 32, wherein the number of weeks in the term is about 36, and the plurality of cards consists of about 36 cards.
 37. The set of cards claimed in claim 32, wherein each card in the set has an obverse side and a reverse side, the obverse side of each card bears the image of an animal, the reverse side of each card bears a portion of a collective image, and the indicia of all cards in the set collectively define the collective image when arranged adjacent to one another.
 38. The set of cards claimed in claim 37, wherein the collective image comprises a group of animals.
 39. The set of cards claimed in claim 37, wherein the collective image further comprises a textual message encouraging children to attend school. 